James Croal Jackson

Invasive Species

I expend thousands of steps
all day, every day to find
and squish spotted lanternflies
because each one spared means
another eighty born and I don’t
want the crops to fail. This is 
my mission to save us. When
I was away I let the hunger 
fester and now the vines and trees
are covered. They are your other 
lover descending upon me from
high, landing on the sidewalk
sun, and this is the only way
I know to put my foot down.

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James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. His latest chapbooks are A God You Believed In (Pinhole Poetry, 2023) and Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022). Recent poems are in Hello America, Little Patuxent Review, and Ballast Poetry Journal. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Find him at jamescroaljackson.com.